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Latest Science news, comment and analysis from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voiceen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2019Mon, 21 Jan 2019 21:57:30 GMT2019-01-21T21:57:30Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2019The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
Super blood wolf moon: stargazers battle cold and clouds to view lunar eclipsehttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/super-blood-wolf-moon-lunar-eclipse-stargazers-battle-cold-and-clouds
<p>Thousands endure sub-zero temperatures in US and Europe to see rare event</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2019/jan/21/lunar-eclipse-2019-super-blood-wolf-moon-in-pictures">Super blood wolf moon – in pictures</a></li></ul><p>Thousands of stargazers have battled sub-freezing temperatures to catch a glimpse of a lunar extravaganza known as a<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/20/super-blood-wolf-moon-rare-total-lunar-eclipse-to-grace-northern-hemisphere-skies"> super blood wolf moon</a>.</p><p>The rare celestial event takes places when the moon is positioned slightly closer to the Earth than normal, and appears slightly bigger and brighter than normal – a phenomenon called a super moon. During the total eclipse, the moon was expected to give off a coppery red glow on the lunar surface as it slips into Earth’s shadow, known as a blood moon.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/super-blood-wolf-moon-lunar-eclipse-stargazers-battle-cold-and-clouds">Continue reading...</a>Lunar eclipsesScienceSpaceUS newsUK newsWorld newsMon, 21 Jan 2019 08:14:43 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/super-blood-wolf-moon-lunar-eclipse-stargazers-battle-cold-and-cloudsPhotograph: Mike Blake/ReutersPhotograph: Mike Blake/ReutersGuardian staff and agencies2019-01-21T08:14:43ZBiological facts are just the beginning | Letterhttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/biological-facts-are-just-the-beginning
The biologist’s task is more than just learning facts they must attempt to understand the messy, complex web of life, writes <strong>Andy Lloyd</strong><p>I disagree with your correspondent (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/18/chemistry-beats-biology-for-elegance" title="">Letters</a>, 19 January) who thinks biology is preoccupied with memorising facts. I have heard this tired assertion many times in staff rooms during a career as a biologist who also taught physics and chemistry. Biology does indeed have elegance, with the theory of evolution and the structure of DNA giving an overarching understanding of the subject. Yet together they have produced a messy, ad hoc, complex and confusingly tangled web of life.</p><p>Lucky the chemists and physicists. Atoms with consistent structures obeying laws that seem to hold throughout the universe so that the inner workings of stars in distant galaxies are as explicable as the working of our own sun. The unfortunate biologist is stuck with attempting to unravel the twists and turns of processes within living organisms created without a designer or overall plan yet arguably the most complex entities in the universe.<br><strong>Andy Lloyd</strong><br><em>Amersham, Buckinghamshire</em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/biological-facts-are-just-the-beginning">Continue reading...</a>ScienceBiologyChemistryPhysicsChemistryEducationPeople in scienceMon, 21 Jan 2019 17:44:07 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/biological-facts-are-just-the-beginningPhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoPhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoLetters2019-01-21T17:44:07ZFaecal transplant researchers identify 'super-pooper' donorshttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/faecal-transplant-researchers-identify-super-pooper-donors
<p>Study finds stool transplants from some donors are far more effective than others</p><p>Researchers looking into the success of faecal transplants believe they have identified why the poo of certain donors produces better results than others – so called “super-donors”. </p><p>A team at the University of Auckland examined results from previous studies on faecal transplants – when faeces, and the microbes it contains, are taken from a healthy gut and used to “re-set” the gut of the recipient – to understand why poo from certain donors resulted in a better success rate in treating certain conditions.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/faecal-transplant-researchers-identify-super-pooper-donors">Continue reading...</a>Medical researchMicrobiologyHealthNew ZealandScienceWorld newsBiologySocietyMon, 21 Jan 2019 10:00:11 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/faecal-transplant-researchers-identify-super-pooper-donorsPhotograph: Science Photo Library/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Stock PhotoPhotograph: Science Photo Library/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Stock PhotoNicola Davis2019-01-21T10:00:11ZBattlefield moon: how China plans to win the lunar space racehttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/china-steps-up-bid-to-win-the-lunar-space-race
<p>Successful Chang’e 4 mission reveals nation’s ambitious attempts to thwart its rivals </p><p>As Apollo 11 sailed above the moon, mission control in Houston suggested the astronauts should keep an eye out for a “beautiful Chinese girl called Chang-o”, who, according to legend, had ascended to the moon thousands of years previously, taking along a large rabbit as a companion.</p><p>“I’ll look out for the bunny girl then,” Buzz Aldrin joked in reply, shortly ahead of his and Neil Armstrong’s historic touchdown at the lunar surface.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/china-steps-up-bid-to-win-the-lunar-space-race">Continue reading...</a>SpaceScienceThe moonChinaAsia PacificWorld newsNasaThe space shuttleMon, 21 Jan 2019 06:00:10 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/china-steps-up-bid-to-win-the-lunar-space-racePhotograph: Xinhua/Rex/ShutterstockPhotograph: Xinhua/Rex/ShutterstockHannah Devlin2019-01-21T06:00:10ZAntarctic expedition yields remains of tiny, ancient 'water bears'https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/18/antarctica-tardigrades-crustaceans-mercer-subglacial-lake
<p>Scientists surprised by haul of crustaceans and tardigrades in undisturbed subglacial lake</p><p>Scientists have found the remains of tiny, ancient animals in an Antarctic lake that has lain undisturbed for thousands of years beneath a kilometre-thick slab of ice.</p><p>The surprise haul of dead crustaceans and tardigrades, also known as “water bears” or “moss piglets”, was made by US researchers on a rare mission to drill into the <a href="https://salsa-antarctica.org/concept-and-purpose/">Mercer </a><a href="https://salsa-antarctica.org/concept-and-purpose/">subglacial </a><a href="https://salsa-antarctica.org/concept-and-purpose/">lake</a> which lies nearly 400 miles from the south pole.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/18/antarctica-tardigrades-crustaceans-mercer-subglacial-lake">Continue reading...</a>AntarcticaScienceWorld newsClimate changeEnvironmentAnimalsFri, 18 Jan 2019 15:56:18 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/18/antarctica-tardigrades-crustaceans-mercer-subglacial-lakePhotograph: Steve Gschmeissner/Getty Images/Science Photo Library RFPhotograph: Steve Gschmeissner/Getty Images/Science Photo Library RFIan Sample Science editor2019-01-18T15:56:18ZThey said I'd go blind. Now gene therapy has changed thathttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/19/they-said-i-would-go-blind-gene-therapy-has-changed-that
<p>Matthew Bishop was told there was no treatment that could save his vision. But now scientific breakthroughs in gene therapy have given him, and others, hope</p><p>In his office in Oxford’s John Radcliffe hospital, Prof Robert MacLaren sits upright, his back as straight as a soldier’s, and tells me about the lowest point in his 20-year<strong> </strong>career. It was the rejection, many years ago, of his grant application for a project investigating how gene therapy might treat conditions causing blindness. “It was completely panned by the reviewers,” he says. “We were told ‘There’s no way it’s ever going to happen – it’s a complete waste of time funding such a ridiculously stupid project’.”</p><p>In October last year, MacLaren successfully completed the <a href="https://www.nihr.ac.uk/news/gene-therapy-breakthrough-in-treating-a-rare-form-of-blindness/9306" title="">world’s first gene therapy trial</a> for one such condition, called choroideremia, as part of the largest late-stage trial ever for any genetic disease. It marks an extraordinary breakthrough in the quest of scientists and clinicians to understand why and how our own genes can make us ill, and the apparently miraculous possibility of rewriting our genetic code. But MacLaren is understated about this victory: “It’s really satisfying, when you’re given such a rebuttal, to then prove the reviewers wrong. I’d love to go back to them and say: Look what’s going on now.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/19/they-said-i-would-go-blind-gene-therapy-has-changed-that">Continue reading...</a>GeneticsParents and parentingBiologyScienceFamilyLife and styleSat, 19 Jan 2019 11:00:16 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/19/they-said-i-would-go-blind-gene-therapy-has-changed-thatPhotograph: Joel Redman/THE GUARDIANPhotograph: Joel Redman/THE GUARDIANMoya Sarner2019-01-19T11:00:16ZGreenland's ice melting faster than scientists previously thought – studyhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/21/greenland-ice-melting-faster-than-scientists-previously-thought-study
<p>The pace of ice loss has increased four-fold since 2003 as enormous glaciers are depositing ever larger chunks of ice into the Atlantic ocean, where it melts, causing sea levels to rise</p><p>Greenland is melting faster than scientists previously thought, with the pace of ice loss increasing four-fold since 2003, new research has found.</p><p>Enormous glaciers in Greenland are depositing ever larger chunks of ice into the Atlantic ocean, where it melts. But scientists have found that the largest ice loss in the decade from 2003 actually occurred in the southwest region of the island, which is largely glacier-free.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/21/greenland-ice-melting-faster-than-scientists-previously-thought-study">Continue reading...</a>GreenlandEnvironmentWorld newsClimate changeClimate changeScienceMon, 21 Jan 2019 20:00:22 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/21/greenland-ice-melting-faster-than-scientists-previously-thought-studyPhotograph: Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesOliver Milman2019-01-21T20:00:22Z'Like finding a sneeze': fossil identified as 100m-year-old hagfishhttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/like-finding-a-sneeze-fossil-identified-as-100m-year-old-hagfish
<p>Discovery of slimy sea creature could help settle row over early evolution of vertebrates</p><p>The fossilised remains of a foot-long slimy sea creature dating from 100m years ago suggest that the last common ancestor of all vertebrates looked less like a squishy eel and more typically “fish-like”, researchers claim.</p><p>They say the fossil, unearthed around eight years ago in Lebanon, is an early hagfish, a peculiar creature that has no jaws, eyes or true vertebrae but that boasts the ability, when threatened, to squirt out a mixture that turns into an expanse of slime.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/like-finding-a-sneeze-fossil-identified-as-100m-year-old-hagfish">Continue reading...</a>PalaeontologyEvolutionScienceMon, 21 Jan 2019 20:00:22 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/like-finding-a-sneeze-fossil-identified-as-100m-year-old-hagfishPhotograph: Tetsuto Miyashita/Medical center/University of ChicagoPhotograph: Tetsuto Miyashita/Medical center/University of ChicagoNicola Davis2019-01-21T20:00:22ZDavid Attenborough tells Davos: ‘The Garden of Eden is no more’https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jan/21/david-attenborough-tells-davos-the-garden-of-eden-is-no-more
<p>Human activity has created a new era yet climate change can be stopped, says naturalist</p><p>Sir David Attenborough has warned that “the Garden of Eden is no more”, as he urged political and business leaders from around the world to make a renewed push to tackle climate change before the damage is irreparable.</p><p>Speaking at the start of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, the 92-year-old naturalist and broadcaster warned that human activity has taken the world into a new era, threatening to undermine civilisation.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jan/21/david-attenborough-tells-davos-the-garden-of-eden-is-no-more">Continue reading...</a>David AttenboroughClimate changeScienceUK newsClimate changeEnvironmentTelevision & radioDavos 2018BusinessMon, 21 Jan 2019 19:19:59 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jan/21/david-attenborough-tells-davos-the-garden-of-eden-is-no-morePhotograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty ImagesGraeme Wearden in Davos2019-01-21T19:19:59ZBlood test could detect Alzheimer's more than 10 years earlier – studyhttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/21/blood-test-could-detect-alzheimers-over-10-years-earlier-study
<p>Changes in levels of a protein might reveal onset of disease long before symptoms appear</p><p>Changes in levels of a protein in the blood could help shed light on damage in the brain more than a decade before symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease develop, researchers have revealed.</p><p>While there is no drug to stop the progression of Alzheimer’s, or cure it, the researchers said the study findings could be used by doctors to help anticipate when patients might start to show symptoms of the disease.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/21/blood-test-could-detect-alzheimers-over-10-years-earlier-study">Continue reading...</a>Alzheimer'sHealthMedical researchScienceSocietyMon, 21 Jan 2019 16:00:17 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/21/blood-test-could-detect-alzheimers-over-10-years-earlier-studyPhotograph: BSIP/UIG via Getty ImagesPhotograph: BSIP/UIG via Getty ImagesNicola Davis2019-01-21T16:00:17Z'Ancient' Scottish stone circle was built in 1990shttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jan/21/ancient-scottish-stone-circle-was-built-in-1990s
<p>Archaeologists were studying site until former farm owner came forward </p><p>A stone circle thought to be thousands of years old has turned out to be a lot more modern after a former farm owner admitted building it in the 1990s.</p><p>The “recumbent stone circle” in the parish of Leochel-Cushnie, Aberdeenshire, was reported by the site’s current farm and was considered unusual for its small diameter and relatively small stones.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jan/21/ancient-scottish-stone-circle-was-built-in-1990s">Continue reading...</a>ScotlandUK newsArchaeologyScienceMon, 21 Jan 2019 13:07:24 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jan/21/ancient-scottish-stone-circle-was-built-in-1990sPhotograph: Aberdeenshire Council/PAPhotograph: Aberdeenshire Council/PAPress Association2019-01-21T13:07:24ZWhat the super blood wolf moon looked like around the world – video reporthttps://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2019/jan/21/what-super-blood-wolf-moon-looked-like-around-the-world-video-report
<p>Stargazers across the globe have braved sub-zero temperatures to catch a glimpse of the lunar phenomenon known as a&nbsp;super blood wolf moon</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/super-blood-wolf-moon-lunar-eclipse-stargazers-battle-cold-and-clouds">Super blood wolf moon: stargazers battle cold and clouds to view lunar eclipse</a><br></li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2019/jan/21/what-super-blood-wolf-moon-looked-like-around-the-world-video-report">Continue reading...</a>Lunar eclipsesSpaceScienceWorld newsMon, 21 Jan 2019 09:47:11 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2019/jan/21/what-super-blood-wolf-moon-looked-like-around-the-world-video-reportPhotograph: AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: AFP/Getty ImagesMonika Cvorak2019-01-21T09:47:11ZSuper blood wolf moon: rare total lunar eclipse to appear in skieshttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/20/super-blood-wolf-moon-rare-total-lunar-eclipse-to-grace-northern-hemisphere-skies
<p>Last blood moon for two years will combine with a supermoon to create the unusual celestial phenomenon </p><p>Latest – <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/super-blood-wolf-moon-lunar-eclipse-stargazers-battle-cold-and-clouds">Super blood wolf moon: lunar eclipse stargazers battle cold and clouds</a></p><p>An unusual set of circumstances will combine in the early hours of Monday morning resulting in a phenomenon called a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/21/super-blood-wolf-moon-lunar-eclipse-stargazers-battle-cold-and-clouds">super blood wolf moon</a>.</p><p>A total lunar eclipse will give an apparent reddish colour to the lunar surface – known as a blood moon. At the same time, the moon will be slighty closer to Earth than normal and appear slightly bigger and brighter than usual – a phenomenon called a supermoon.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/20/super-blood-wolf-moon-rare-total-lunar-eclipse-to-grace-northern-hemisphere-skies">Continue reading...</a>The moonSpaceUK newsScienceLunar eclipsesSun, 20 Jan 2019 15:24:49 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/20/super-blood-wolf-moon-rare-total-lunar-eclipse-to-grace-northern-hemisphere-skiesPhotograph: JM F Almeida/Getty ImagesPhotograph: JM F Almeida/Getty ImagesGuardian staff and agencies2019-01-20T15:24:49ZBart De Strooper: ‘Bright young scientists won’t come to join us in UK’https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/20/bart-de-strooper-uk-dementia-research-institute-biologist-brexit-fears
The Belgian biologist fears for the future of the pioneering UK Dementia Research Institute after Brexit<p>Bart De Strooper is clear about his decision to accept the post of running Britain’s massive pioneering research project on dementia. “I would have not gone for it had I known what I know now,” the 59-year-old Belgian biologist told the <em>Observer</em> last week.</p><p>The cause of his dismay is simple: Brexit has blighted the nation and distorted its attitude to international science, said De Strooper. As a result, his <a href="https://mrc.ukri.org/about/institutes-units-centres/uk-dementia-research-institute/" title="">UK Dementia Research Institute</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/dec/18/britain-global-science-race-to-treat-dementia-250m-research-project" title="">set up in 2016</a> at a cost of £250m with the aim of turning the UK into a world leader in dementia research, now faces serious funding and recruitment problems.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/20/bart-de-strooper-uk-dementia-research-institute-biologist-brexit-fears">Continue reading...</a>DementiaResearchBrexitBiologyScienceMental healthUK newsSun, 20 Jan 2019 08:00:13 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/20/bart-de-strooper-uk-dementia-research-institute-biologist-brexit-fearsPhotograph: Ine Dehandschutter/Ine Dehandschutter/VIBPhotograph: Ine Dehandschutter/Ine Dehandschutter/VIBRobin McKie2019-01-20T08:00:13ZMy house burnt down two days before Christmas. I lost everything, and gained so much | Matt Herberthttps://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jan/21/my-house-burnt-down-two-days-before-christmas-i-lost-everything-and-gained-so-much
<p>We got out alive, and my life has been transformed. This is nothing but a great opportunity to help other people</p><p>It was 4am. I awoke. I had already decided I wouldn’t walk this morning. After hours spent traipsing around Northland the previous night trying to complete last-minute Christmas shopping with my eldest daughter, I needed rest. But I couldn’t settle.</p><p>I got up quietly, trying not to disturb my sleeping wife, and went through to the living room. I sat at the dining table and started watching YouTube on my laptop. Normally I would wear my headphones, but this morning I simply turned the volume down low. If I hadn’t made that decision, I might not have heard the noises outside.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jan/21/my-house-burnt-down-two-days-before-christmas-i-lost-everything-and-gained-so-much">Continue reading...</a>Life and styleMelbourneChristmasAustralia newsPsychologyScienceMon, 21 Jan 2019 01:16:29 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jan/21/my-house-burnt-down-two-days-before-christmas-i-lost-everything-and-gained-so-muchPhotograph: Matt Herbert/Matter HerbertPhotograph: Matt Herbert/Matter HerbertMatt Herbert2019-01-21T01:16:29ZCancer in your 20s is terrifying – too many of us are left to cope alone | Hannah Partoshttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/21/cancer-20s-terrifying-survival-rates
<p>Survival rates for 13- to 24-year-olds are rising. Yet poorer patients fare less well, and vital post-cancer care is still lacking</p><p>When I was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2013, aged 22, I was shocked to find out how little survival rates had improved among young people with cancer in recent decades. Research had left us “forgotten in the middle” between children and older adults, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/dec/15/cancer-lost-generation-young-people-symptoms-dismissed" title="">one study put it</a>, with improvements in outcomes among teens and twentysomethings lagging behind the dramatic advances seen among the general population.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/commentisfree/2019/jan/16/cancers-long-term-prognosis-as-an-oncologist-ive-never-been-so-hopeful">Cancer’s long-term prognosis: as an oncologist I’ve never been so hopeful | Ranjana Srivastava</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/21/cancer-20s-terrifying-survival-rates">Continue reading...</a>CancerHealthSocietyYoung peopleNHSMedical researchScienceHospitalsPovertySocial exclusionUK newsMon, 21 Jan 2019 14:03:45 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/21/cancer-20s-terrifying-survival-ratesPhotograph: Dimitris Legakis/Athena PicturesPhotograph: Dimitris Legakis/Athena PicturesHannah Partos2019-01-21T14:03:45ZOur oceans broke heat records in 2018 and the consequences are catastrophichttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2019/jan/16/our-oceans-broke-heat-records-in-2018-and-the-consequences-are-catastrophic
<p>Rising temperatures can be charted back to the late 1950s, and the last five years were the five hottest on record</p><p>Last year was the hottest ever measured, continuing an upward trend that is a direct result of manmade greenhouse gas emissions.</p><p>The key to the measurements is the oceans. Oceans absorb more than 90% of the heat that results from greenhouse gases, so if you want to measure global warming you really have to measure ocean warming.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2019/jan/16/our-oceans-broke-heat-records-in-2018-and-the-consequences-are-catastrophic">Continue reading...</a>Climate changeClimate changeOceansEnvironmentScienceWed, 16 Jan 2019 11:00:19 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2019/jan/16/our-oceans-broke-heat-records-in-2018-and-the-consequences-are-catastrophicPhotograph: David Burdick/APPhotograph: David Burdick/APJohn Abraham2019-01-16T11:00:19ZVideo games can turn university graduates into better employees | Matthew Barrhttps://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jan/16/video-games-can-turn-university-graduates-into-better-employees
<p>Video games improve communication, adaptibility and critical thinking – just the attributes that employers are looking for</p><p>In recent years, Boris Johnson has excelled at making ignorant pronouncements and illiterate blunders. From <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/09/tory-party-must-choose-its-future-direction-after-boris-johnson-burqa-row-says-sajjad-karim-mep">offensive remarks on burqas</a> to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/sep/30/boris-johnson-caught-on-camera-reciting-kipling-in-myanmar-temple">reciting Kipling in Myanmar</a> and his <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/09/boris-johnson-calls-theresa-may-chequers-brexit-plan-suicide-vest">ludicrous statements on Brexit</a>, Johnson has perfected the art of getting it wrong. It feels like he’s managed to offend just about everyone. For video game educators like myself, that moment arrived way back in 2006,<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3635699/The-writing-is-on-the-wall-computer-games-rot-the-brain.html"> when Johnson attacked video games as a learning tool</a>.</p><p>“They [young people] become like blinking lizards, motionless, absorbed, only the twitching of their hands showing they are still conscious,” he wrote. “These machines teach them nothing. They stimulate no ratiocination, discovery or feat of memory – though some of them may cunningly pretend to be educational.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jan/16/video-games-can-turn-university-graduates-into-better-employees">Continue reading...</a>UniversitiesEducationHigher educationGamesGames consolesStudentsLecturersAcademicsScienceWed, 16 Jan 2019 07:00:14 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jan/16/video-games-can-turn-university-graduates-into-better-employeesPhotograph: scyther5/Getty Images/iStockphotoPhotograph: scyther5/Getty Images/iStockphotoMatthew Barr2019-01-16T07:00:14ZTo save the rainforest, we need to work with the palm oil industry | Jennifer Luceyhttps://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jan/15/to-save-the-rainforest-we-need-to-work-with-the-palm-oil-industry
<p>As a tropical field ecologist in Borneo, I learned why science must work with industry to protect the planet</p><p>Lots of academics worry that focusing too much on the real-world impact of research threatens pure, curiosity-driven science. But really the two go hand in hand, especially when it comes to solving the complex question of how we achieve sustainability despite increasing human pressures on our planet.</p><p>As a tropical field ecologist studying rainforest destruction in Borneo, I saw the impact of the expanding palm oil industry on tropical biodiversity first hand, and so it was always a high priority to ensure the research I was doing made a difference. I was driven by scientific curiosity about how nature responds to the most drastic human activity, but also by the motivation to find solutions.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jan/15/to-save-the-rainforest-we-need-to-work-with-the-palm-oil-industry">Continue reading...</a>UniversitiesEducationHigher educationScienceResearchAcademicsTue, 15 Jan 2019 07:00:11 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jan/15/to-save-the-rainforest-we-need-to-work-with-the-palm-oil-industryPhotograph: Jennifer LuceyPhotograph: Jennifer LuceyJennifer Lucey2019-01-15T07:00:11ZDid you solve it? Catriona's colourful conundrumshttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/14/did-you-solve-it-catrionas-colourful-conundrums
<p>The solutions to today’s puzzles</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/14/can-you-solve-it-catrionas-colourful-conundrums">Earlier today</a> I set you the following five geometrical puzzles by Catriona Shearer. I hope you discovered the clever way of solving them, without recourse to pages of algebra.</p><p><strong>1. Orange segments</strong></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/14/did-you-solve-it-catrionas-colourful-conundrums">Continue reading...</a>MathematicsEducationScienceMathematicsGeometry puzzlesMon, 14 Jan 2019 17:00:27 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/14/did-you-solve-it-catrionas-colourful-conundrumsPhotograph: Catriona ShearerPhotograph: Catriona ShearerAlex Bellos2019-01-14T17:00:27ZCan you solve it? Catriona's colourful conundrumshttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/14/can-you-solve-it-catrionas-colourful-conundrums
<p>Five beautiful geometrical puzzles</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/14/did-you-solve-it-catrionas-colourful-conundrums">UPDATE: To read the solutions click here</a></p><p>Today’s puzzles come from <a href="https://twitter.com/Cshearer41">Catriona Shearer</a>, a maths teacher at a school in north Essex, whose colourful geometry puzzles have recently gained a following on social media. These brainteasers are certainly pretty, and some are pretty tricky too!</p><p>Here are five of her best.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/14/can-you-solve-it-catrionas-colourful-conundrums">Continue reading...</a>MathematicsMathematicsEducationScienceGeometry puzzlesMon, 14 Jan 2019 07:10:30 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/14/can-you-solve-it-catrionas-colourful-conundrumsPhotograph: Catriona ShearerPhotograph: Catriona ShearerAlex Bellos2019-01-14T07:10:30ZDid you solve it? 2019 in numbershttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/dec/31/did-you-solve-it-2019-in-numbers
<p>The solutions to today’s puzzles</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/dec/31/can-you-solve-it-2019-in-numbers">Earlier today</a> I set you the following puzzles about the number 2019</p><p>1) <strong>Date jam</strong></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/dec/31/did-you-solve-it-2019-in-numbers">Continue reading...</a>MathematicsMathematicsEducationScienceMon, 31 Dec 2018 17:00:22 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/dec/31/did-you-solve-it-2019-in-numbersPhotograph: Amit Dave/ReutersPhotograph: Amit Dave/ReutersAlex Bellos2018-12-31T17:00:22ZCan you solve it? 2019 in numbershttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/dec/31/can-you-solve-it-2019-in-numbers
<p>Calculations to kick-start the new year</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/dec/31/did-you-solve-it-2019-in-numbers">UPDATE: To read the solutions click here.</a></p><p>To welcome the New Year, we’re going to celebrate the number 2019. Here’s one numerical factoid readers may find charming:</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">2019 is the smallest number that can be written in 6 ways as the sum of the squares of 3 primes:<br><br>7² + 11² + 43² = 2019<br><br>7² + 17² + 41² = 2019<br><br>13² + 13² + 41² = 2019<br><br>11² + 23² + 37² = 2019<br><br>17² + 19² + 37² = 2019<br><br>23² + 23² + 31² = 2019</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/dec/31/can-you-solve-it-2019-in-numbers">Continue reading...</a>MathematicsMathematicsScienceEducationArithmetic puzzlesMon, 31 Dec 2018 07:30:10 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/dec/31/can-you-solve-it-2019-in-numbersPhotograph: VCG/VCG via Getty ImagesPhotograph: VCG/VCG via Getty ImagesAlex Bellos2018-12-31T07:30:10ZHow do we define creativity? - Science Weekly podcasthttps://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2019/jan/18/how-do-we-define-creativity-science-weekly-podcast
<p>In our latest collaboration, Ian Sample teams up with Jordan Erica Webber of Chips with Everything to look at why artwork produced using artificial intelligence is forcing us to look at how we define creativity</p><p>In October 2018 the British auction house <a href="https://www.christies.com/">Christie’s</a> became the first to sell a work of art created by an algorithm.</p><p>The painting, <a href="https://www.christies.com/features/A-collaboration-between-two-artists-one-human-one-a-machine-9332-1.aspx">Portrait of Edmond Belamy</a>, was sold for $432,500, which was much more than anyone had been expecting. This groundbreaking sale created some controversy, not least in the AI art world itself.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2019/jan/18/how-do-we-define-creativity-science-weekly-podcast">Continue reading...</a>ScienceArt and designArtificial intelligence (AI)TechnologyCultureFri, 18 Jan 2019 06:00:11 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2019/jan/18/how-do-we-define-creativity-science-weekly-podcastPhotograph: Deep DreamPhotograph: Deep DreamPresented by Ian Sample and Jordan Erica Webber. Produced by Danielle Stephens and Max Sanderson2019-01-18T06:00:11ZChinese rover Jade Rabbit 2 sets off to explore far side of moon - videohttps://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2019/jan/04/chinese-rover-jade-rabbit-2-sets-off-to-explore-far-side-of-moon-video
<p>The rover from China's Chang'e 4 probe separated from its lander on Thursday evening after the probe touched down on the far side of the moon. It is the first spacecraft in the world to achieve a lunar soft landing</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/04/china-change-4-moon-rover-jade-rabbit-2-sets-off">'One giant leap': China's Chang'e 4 rover Jade Rabbit 2 sets off on moon mission</a><br></li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2019/jan/04/chinese-rover-jade-rabbit-2-sets-off-to-explore-far-side-of-moon-video">Continue reading...</a>SpaceThe moonChinaAsia PacificFri, 04 Jan 2019 10:56:21 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2019/jan/04/chinese-rover-jade-rabbit-2-sets-off-to-explore-far-side-of-moon-videoPhotograph: REX/ShutterstockPhotograph: REX/Shutterstock2019-01-04T10:56:21Z'Dark side' of the moon: China's Chang'e 4 probe makes historic landing – video explainerhttps://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2019/jan/03/chinas-change-4-probe-lands-on-dark-side-of-the-moon-video-report
<p>A Chinese spacecraft has made the first landing on the far side of the moon, touching down in the South Pole-Aitken basin. The mission aims to take detailed measurements of the moon’s terrain and mineral composition</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/03/china-probe-change-4-land-far-side-moon-basin-crater">Chang'e 4 landing: China probe makes historic touchdown on far side of the moon</a><br></li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2019/jan/03/chinas-change-4-probe-lands-on-dark-side-of-the-moon-video-report">Continue reading...</a>The moonSpaceChinaAsia PacificScienceWorld newsThu, 03 Jan 2019 11:18:19 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2019/jan/03/chinas-change-4-probe-lands-on-dark-side-of-the-moon-video-reportPhotograph: EPAPhotograph: EPAMonika Cvorak2019-01-03T11:18:19ZNew Horizons beams home close-ups of Ultima Thule – videohttps://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2019/jan/03/new-horizons-beams-home-close-ups-of-ultima-thule-video
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/02/first-close-ups-of-ultima-thule-reveal-it-resembles-dark-red-snowman">Nasa’s New Horizons spacecraft has beamed home its first close-up images of Ultima Thule</a>, a lump of rock the shape of an unfinished snowman that lies 4bn miles away on the edge of the solar system.</p><p>The excited scientists of the New Horizons team led by principal investigator Alan Stern discuss their findings so far. 'We could not be happier,' he said.&nbsp;</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2019/jan/03/new-horizons-beams-home-close-ups-of-ultima-thule-video">Continue reading...</a>NasaScienceSpaceThu, 03 Jan 2019 01:53:21 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2019/jan/03/new-horizons-beams-home-close-ups-of-ultima-thule-videoPhotograph: EPAPhotograph: EPA2019-01-03T01:53:21ZNasa's Juno probe films Jupiter's storms – videohttps://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2018/dec/14/nasa-juno-probe-footage-jupiter-video
<p>Nasa's Juno craft has captured the chaotic weather systems on Jupiter as well as taken new measurements that will help to build a map of the planet's interior. The $1.1bn probe entered into an orbit pattern in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jul/13/nasas-juno-probe-sends-back-first-images-of-jupiter">July 2016</a>&nbsp;on a mission to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/aug/26/nasas-juno-probe-to-make-closest-pass-of-jupiter-on-saturday">peer through the clouds that shroud Jupiter </a>and learn how the planet, and ultimately all the planets in our solar system were formed around the nascent sun 4.5bn years ago</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2018/dec/14/nasa-juno-probe-footage-jupiter-video">Continue reading...</a>JupiterSpaceNasaUS newsWorld newsAstronomyFri, 14 Dec 2018 17:46:53 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2018/dec/14/nasa-juno-probe-footage-jupiter-videoPhotograph: NASAPhotograph: NASA2018-12-14T17:46:53ZDo you have what it takes to be an astronaut? – in pictureshttps://www.theguardian.com/science/gallery/2018/nov/29/tim-peake-astronaut-selection-test-book-in-pictures
<p>Tim Peake beat more than 8,000 applicants to the job. Here, he shares some images of the training he underwent, as seen in his new hardback, <a href="https://guardianbookshop.com/astronaut-selection-test-book.html">The Astronaut Selection Test Book</a></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/gallery/2018/nov/29/tim-peake-astronaut-selection-test-book-in-pictures">Continue reading...</a>Tim PeakeScienceSpaceBooksCultureEuropean Space AgencyThu, 29 Nov 2018 06:00:15 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/gallery/2018/nov/29/tim-peake-astronaut-selection-test-book-in-picturesPhotograph: Vittorio Crobu/ESAPhotograph: Vittorio Crobu/ESA2018-11-29T06:00:15ZJoy as Nasa probe touches down on Mars – videohttps://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2018/nov/26/joy-as-nasa-probe-touches-down-on-mars-video
<p>Flight controllers at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, leap out of their seats and erupt in applause as news comes in that InSight, the spacecraft designed to explore Mars’s interior, successfully landed on the planet</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/live/2018/nov/26/mars-insight-lander-nasa-probe-live-updates">InSight lander: Nasa probe touches down on Mars – live updates</a></li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2018/nov/26/joy-as-nasa-probe-touches-down-on-mars-video">Continue reading...</a>MarsNasaSpaceMon, 26 Nov 2018 20:43:10 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2018/nov/26/joy-as-nasa-probe-touches-down-on-mars-videoPhotograph: NASA via Getty ImagesPhotograph: NASA via Getty Images2018-11-26T20:43:10Z